A war veteran’s speech impacts the Columbus community

On many occasions, guest speakers come to Christopher Columbus High School to talk to our student body and faculty.

However, one kind of speaker really stands out among them all: a war veteran. War veterans play a big part in our country, and Columbus is lucky enough to have a veteran who graduated in 1959 and was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. That man’s name is Col. Michael Carricarte. Men like Carricarte continue to speak to students all over the U.S. to no only share their experiences, but also spread a message that will impact a human’s life forever.

“Being in the military was something I think was the greatest things I went through so I was able to share that with [the students],” said Carricarte. Carricarte has a great passion for the military and it didn’t just happen over night. The Colonel’s military interest sparked when he was young, but he didn’t really put his passion into action until he attended the University of Miami, as he was a member of the ROTC and was drafted after college as an officer.

It is great to see faculty members pulling strings for veteran speakers to come and talk to high school kids, as they show they know the importance of reminiscing on the success of fellow explorers that came before us. “We brought him in here so he could explain exactly what it means to be a patriot and how important it is to know about the military,” said faculty member Dr. E Carter Burrus, who is a great friend of Carricarte who agrees that the idea of patriotism should be passed to the youth.

Although patriotism is seen as a boring subject to talk about for some, until someone actually experiences a war veteran’s speech firsthand, a person can’t really be impacted by a speech like Carricarte’s. “[The kids] were riveted,” said Burrus. “Usually some speakers aren’t very dynamic and I’ll see students fidgeting around. However, the students were glued on everything he had to say,” he later added.

“It’s good to look back and honor the men who served our country.” said Columbus student and Patriot Club member Andre Madrid. Students including Madrid loved the way Carricarte delivered his message about patriotism in his speech, as he was very blunt and to the point.

The student body agrees that they are the future of America, and showing our respect for our patriots is a way to show our gratefulness for everyone who fights for us. “I feel that it’s very important to acknowledge the sacrifice that these men have done through their service,” said Madrid. Hopefully the message patriotism implies will shape the high school students of today that will become our saviors of tomorrow.